"I'll not bore you with history, but I was always meant to serve the High King of Britain. I fought with him against those who made war on him. We sought alliances where they could be found. I served Britain as he bade me." He knows this is a poor explanation. "There was nearly always war, in which nobles or kings made wreck of the land in their pursuit of power. Arthur's goal was to end that, unify Britain, so that the folks might prosper."

He pauses, wishing he had more bourbon, because he has begun to question how that was ever meant to work. But he's only begun to question it and so he will say nothing of that to Magnus.